Cassandra
checked her little red dress and liked what she saw. Her lean and lithe five foot ten frame made
the dress look good along with her red hair.
Sunday was about the only time she was able to show her female
side. The majority of the time in her
job as an electrical engineer required that she wear jeans and the co-op logoed
blouse with her work boots.
The organ in
the church was beginning to play the closing song for the service at Our Savior
Light Church when all the power went out.
Pastor Tom greeted all the members of the congregation as they filed out
of the sanctuary. He asked Casey: “what
do you think happened to the power?” She answered: I don’t know, but I will
find out and get back to you Pastor.” She reached the parking lot and retrieved
her cell phone from the consol of her Nissan Pathfinder. Casey already had ten messages and twice as
many text messages. She put the SUV into
drive and headed to her ranch to change clothes. The app on her smart phone told her that her
ranch was on her genset. She pushed the
button and the gate opened as she drove into her home. She changed and did a quick look at her
messages on her phone. All had to do
with no powers in the Rusty River Co-Op service territory. She went out of her way a section so she
could take a look at the switchyard which was only two miles from her home.
The scene at
the switchyard was a picture of destruction.
The familiar hum of the substation was replaced with smoke, silence, and
the smell of burnt oil. Casey turned
around and drove within a mile of her home.
She reached under the passenger seat and pulled out a faraday cage containing
a ham radio.
The
information she received with her calls to key operators confirmed her worse
fears. She made the thirteen calls to
the Haven Helpers. Casey raced back to
ranch to pack for her new life in a new World.
